C.T. Kurien

C.T. Kurien is a professor of economics, now retired and resident in Bangalore, who has written many books on economics. He attended Madras Christian College, graduating in 1953 with a master’s degree in economics. He went on to Stanford University, where he was awarded a PhD in 1962.  He was Professor, Madras Christian College (1962 to 1978), Director, Madras Institute of Development Studies (1978 to 1988), National Fellow, University Grants Commission (1975-77), National Fellow, Indian Council for Social Science Research (1992-1994), Member, Panel of Economists, National Planning Commission (mid 1980s); one of the six economists invited by the Secretary General of the United Nations to make an independent evaluation of the Global Food Situation (1983-84), President, Indian Economic Association (2000).  

A prolific author, his major publications include: A Theoretical Approach to the Indian Economy (Asia Publishing House, 1970), Poverty, Planning and Social Transformation (Allied Publishers, 1978), Dynamics of Rural Transformation (Orient Longman, 1980), Growth and Justice: Collected Papers (Oxford University Press, 1992), The Economy: An Interpretative Introduction (Sage Publications, 1992), Global Capitalism and the Indian Economy (Orient Longman, 1994), Rethinking Economics (Sage Publications, 1996), Wealth and Illfare (Books for Change, 2012). 

His focus over many decades on the Indian economy has resulted in his being a long-
standing critic of mainstream economics. He sees it as failing to provide a suitable basis for understanding the economics of India.